


Learned Behavior

by analog08



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, Finding boundaries, Hurt/Comfort, I meant it to be romantic tho, can be taken platonically or romantically I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 13:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13591338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/analog08/pseuds/analog08
Summary: A lesson in compromise.





	Learned Behavior

Shaun didn’t like being held. They had hugged once, when Shaun told her about the morning he was caught up in a shooting. 

Lea was only in her apartment for 45 seconds when she heard hesitant knocks against her door. What could he want now? When she opened the door she already knew who was waiting for her.

“I made a mistake today… and somebody got hurt.” His voice sounded absolutely defeated.

Words of encouragement didn’t seem appropriate so she went with what was instinctive. She took a tentative step forward, enveloped his ribcage with her arms and laid her head against his neck. There was a moment where he stiffened, but he then lowered both his arms by his side. Lea absentmindedly rubbed patterns in his back through his dress shirt with her thumb. He didn’t seem to mind, but even when he relaxed into the embrace she felt the tension stirring within him. 

Eventually she felt his arm twitching nervously near her waist and a moment later he wrapped his right arm around her shoulder, securing her to his chest. The rigidity in Shaun dissipated from there, and he inhaled deeply. 

 

 

Holding Lea was another story. 

On the night they embraced a second time she found Shaun in his apartment, wracking through all his belongings.

It wasn’t considered breaking in if you think your neighbor’s being murdered, right? I mean, she heard him stomping around from her apartment, two doors away. “Woah, you win a spontaneous vacation or something, Shaun? What’s up with you?” she questioned, three steps into the room.

“No. No, Lea. I didn’t win anything.” Despite answering her, his voice had a distant quality to it. Shaun’s stopped walking about now, but he’s certainly not standing still. He’s almost rocking back on his heels and he seemingly can’t decide between crossing his arms or leaving them by his sides.

Her voice is softer now. “Hey…” Shaun looks towards Lea now but he’s still moving anxiously in place. She opens her arms outwards and he falters for a second before understanding. “Do you want me to give you a hug Shaun?” she asks.

“No.” He says bluntly.

He does however take a step towards Lea and he puts his hands on her arms to gently place them back beside her. 

For a second Lea feels embarrassed until Shaun takes another step and wraps his arms around her. He turns to bury his face in her hair but the sensation overwhelms him so he retreats, putting their cheeks together instead. Her hair smells of artificial vanilla and Shaun can tell it’s faded away slightly.

Vanilla. And floral perfume. His breathing evens out gradually and his eyes close. Lea feels his fingers flutter, then start to rub up and down her upper arm soothingly. “Thank you, Lea.” They stay there for another moment, him holding her close and her, arms limp beneath his embrace.

When he finally stepped back he was calm enough to respond to her. 

“No problem Shaun.” Lea tries to keep her tone casual but she knows the concern ebbs through anyway. “Are you okay?” 

“The textbook I was reading doesn’t have anything on adermatoglyphia. I was trying to find the right one.” 

Deciding to gloss over his medical jargon, she supplies, “Well, I could help you look; do you remember the title?”

Shaun pauses briefly. “No…” His eyes scan the room and she can tell he’s wracking his brain.

“Let’s go to the library." She interrupts, trying to distract him from his thoughts spiraling again. "I haven’t been in forever, you can look for your derma-whatever book and I can get somethin’ about cars. This guy came to the shop and asked if there was something wrong with his transmission, like, could he not hear it clunking?” After a moment of internal deliberation, he looks up from the television and towards Lea. When he responds his voice is soft, but it no longer has the anxious edge that it did when she walked in.

“Okay.” 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! I started this off as a whole fic but it just didn’t flow right to me so I scrapped it and hopefully I’ll flesh it out later.


End file.
